


Just Dance!

by blue_assassin



Category: Heros of Olympus, Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Genre: Buteveryonehasamajorpart, Dancer!Will, F/M, First Kiss, M/M, Mutual Pining, No Smut, absolutely_no_SMUT, dancer!Nico, everyonedances, ithinkthat'senoughtags?, lostofdancing, solangelo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:48:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24183889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue_assassin/pseuds/blue_assassin
Summary: Just a solangelo Dance AU that no one asked for! Basically, they both hate eachother, but Jason is a sneaky mastermind and gets them to dance together and they realize they don't hate eachother. IDK
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Calypso/Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Kudos: 19





	1. Try Everything

**Author's Note:**

> Hello people of the internet! My name is Blue Assassin, and I have opted to contribute to this lovely website wit ha fanfiction! This one is one of my own design and I am happy to present it to you!!! In case the title didn’t give it away, this is a PJO dance AU that, while the other PJO characters are heavily featured, is still mostly a solangelo. this is my first fic on the archive, so pls don't kill meeeeee TT^TT  
> (edit) Chapter title taken from the song by shakira
> 
> Happy Reading!

Ch. 1

“Nico, you have to get out of your comfort zone!” Hazel said for the third time that evening.

Nico shifted his dance bag and rolled his eyes, “See, I would, but the door to my comfort zone happens to have three padlocks and a deadbolt. The keys to which I seem to have lost.” he smirked in reply.

Hazel snorted a bit, but continued, “Seriously, though. Someday something’s gonna happen and either you or I can’t dance with the other. You love dancing so much, and I just want you to be able to keep doing what you love.”

Nico pulled an earbud and, smirking, sang, “come on, let it go just let it be why don't you be you and I'll be me.”  
“Don’t you sing James Bay at me, young man.” Hazel scolded.

Nico finished with, “And I’ll be me,” before nudging his sister’s arm, “We both know I’m older, missy.” 

“You’re changing the subject,” Hazel said in a warning voice.

“Am I?” Nico asked coyly, holding open the door as they entered New Rome Academy of Dance.

“Yes you are, and that’s not-”

“Hey, Nico! Hey Hazel!” came a voice.

“Reyna.” Nico grinned as he fist-bumped the woman at the front desk. 

“Hey there, Reyna. How’re you?” Hazel smiled with a familiarity that came only from knowing someone for an eternity. Reyna Ramirez-Arellano, the owner of New Rome Academy, had been friends with Hazel since they were little. They had taken ballet and contemporary dance classes together when they were in middle school and had performed together before Hazel started dancing with Nico, and Reyna had taken over New Rome Academy. They had known each other for ten years now, and that was a kind of friendship that never really got old.

“I’m alright.” she replied with a shrug, pushing back the messy braid over her shoulder, “The new beginner hip hop class is giving me nightmares, and the final wrinkles in the planning for regionals auditions is exhausting, but other than that, I’m great.”

Hazel nodded in sympathy, “We all feel the stress of auditions, even if you aren’t dancing.”

“Tell me about it.” sighed Reyna, then she smiled, “But who cares about that? You guys are here to practice, right? Usual room?”

Hazel nodded, “You’re the best, Reyna.”  
She handed them a key with a large tag that said “3f” in bold black letters and smiled, “I know.”

They said goodbye to Reyna and marched the two flights of stairs to their practice room. Room 3f. Hazel and Reyna had practiced there for a few years until Hazel started working with Nico. Hazel was a creature of habit, and Nico didn’t mind moving, so they had stayed in that room. It had, in the five years they had been dancing together, truly become theirs. Sure, other people used it other times of the day, and maybe it wasn’t the best room in the studio, but they loved it. It had character. The mirror along one wall was smudged, barely allowing them to see into it, and there was a warp in the flooring from rain damage that Hazel always tripped over, but the bright window across from the entrance, and the amazing posters for dance shows along the walls made up for it.  
Hazel put her own bag by the door as Nico moved to the center of the room and started to stretch. She plugged her phone into the speaker before moving to the bar along the mirror to do warm-ups of her own.

As she opened her mouth to continue their earlier conversation, Nico cut her off.

“Don’t,” he said.

“You don’t even know what I was going to say,” Hazel replied.

“I have a guess though, “said Nico as he spread his legs wide and folder over, reaching for the floor, “You were going to revive our conversation in the lobby. Don’t.”

Hazel sighed, “But-”

“Hazel,” Nico interrupted again. He was not going to listen to this. Not here. Not when he’s dancing, “Can we just dance?”

Hazel looked about ready to try again, but stopped and smiled fondly instead, “Sure. Let me just put my shoes on.”  
Hazel rolled up the sleeves of her white sweater and sat down to push aside the fabric of her grey swirled leggings and lacing her ballet shoes before doing a couple more quick stretches.

So Nico moved to sit against the wall by his bag next to Hazel’s and drank some water. There was a reason Nico didn’t bring personal matters into the studio. New Rome was his place to unwind. To be free. To be...himself. It had been since he was young, despite the interesting road he took to get there. Hazel had started ballet when she was eight, taking classes here with Reyna (and even Frank before he realized he had no coordination and too much stage fright). Nico had been reluctant, but eventually agreed to take classes too and signed up for the first available class on the list, urban hip hop for beginners. Somehow, Nico found himself drawn to the style’s quick pace and intense movements. He also found that he was good at it, a surprisingly rare occurrence. Slowly, dance became his escape. His way to feel, or not feel at all on some days. When his mom was killed, he had come to the studio and danced to song after song until he made his feet ache and stars twinkled outside. When his father left them, when he realized he wasn’t as straight as society wanted him to be, when his and Hazel’s older sister, Bianca, died. The studio had been there. For him. To let go and to simply be. So, no. Personal issues did not make their way into this room. When Nico was in this room, nothing bad could touch him unless he wanted it to.

“Alright!” Hazel announced, stepping away from the bar, “I’m done!.”

Nico stood and moved to turn on their song for their audition at regionals as Hazel moved into the splits near the far wall. As the opening beats of “Bad Liar” by Imagine Dragons played, she stood, keeping eye contact with Nico as he moved to sit in front of the mirror and watch her, before turning to move across the room. She did a couple of plies and Nico watched her. She walked forward a few paces, before quickly curling over and back up straight again before smoothly moving into a chaine turn and pressing down a bit to look back at Nico. It’s a cautionary dance in the beginning. A feeling of needing to practice, but testing the waters to see what Nico would do. Nico, as they had practiced many times, watched in rapt attention at every turn, using the time to appreciate how beautiful his sister’s dancing was.  
Hazel took a few quick steps before elegantly extending both arms and one, slightly curled leg in front of her. She moved elegantly and almost fluidly across the floor in a way that never failed to impress Nico. While he had the quick steps and the complicated moves, she had all the delicacy and beauty in their dances. Hazel moved into a pirouette as Nico moved to the center. He took a moment to theatrically appreciate her dancing, before pulling out a few moves of his own. Quick and jerky, calculated and precise, he swung his arms, moving his hands over his face before using his swift movements to slide behind his sister and spin around, never slowing his beat. Hazel tried to move away, but he moved in front of her, blocking her path. He bent his legs a bit, and pumped his fist up and down a couple of times, swinging his knees in and out, before extending his neck and shoulders to the side in a slow, smooth movement. He continued to move as Hazel turned away, her slightly more swift movements showing her distaste. Before she could move too far, Nico grabbed her hand, spinning her a couple of times while pulling Hazel by the waist before she could protest. Normally, Nico would never get this close to anyone, but he knew Hazel. They had been dancing together for years and had known each other their whole lives. With Hazel, and only Hazel, closeness was fine.

They pulled apart and Hazel moved to dance on her own, but they slowly come together for a series of simple hip hop moves, infused slightly with the open elegance of ballet. They moved apart, doing the same motion in sync, yet doing a different move as their own style influenced how it was executed. There was an interesting mindset you had to have to do this dance. One of uncertainty, yet also confidence. Trying to find each other and where they stand together and, slowly, very slowly, learning together, Developing and adapting to each other's styles until, though it is still similar, they throw all that away and branch off into their own style.

Apart, yet together.

Different, yet the same.

With each other until the very end

Nico led Hazel into a bit of an unorthodox dip as the music cut out, holding that pose for a bit as they would onstage, before helping her into a standing position, grinning and breathing heavily. Hazel grinned at Nico and hugged him tightly, bouncing a bit.

“That was our best practice yet!” she squealed.

Nico nodded, but tapped her nose, “You still stumbled a bit on the first pirouette though.” he commented.

“Hey, your floorwork was exactly flawless either, sir.” she laughed in reply.

“Whatever.” Nico moved to grab his water bottle from his bag and took a long drink. Just as he had put it down, the door to their room burst open and two people walked in. Nico jumped, and Hazel screamed a bit, but they quickly recovered as they recognized the faces of their friends Jason Grace and Piper Mclean. Nico lifted a hand to wave and say hi, but stopped, eyes widening, and burst out laughing.  
Piper looked perfectly normal in her usual blue leggings, close fitting white shirt, and jazz shoes, but that wasn’t what made him laugh. It was Jason. For the most part, he was wearing his usual practice clothes (grey shorts, tennis shoes, and a tee shirt) but today, it wasn’t his normal New Rome Academy of Dance tee. Oh no. Instead, he had a purple shirt which read, in big white letters “buon appetito” above a plate with two staplers on it. The shirt looked hand made, which could only mean one thing.

“You lost a bet to Percy again, didn’t you?” Nico asked after his laughter died down.  
Jason scowled at him, “I come to say hi to my bro, and this is the first thing you say?”

“It is funny, Jason.” Piper smiled, “And yes, Nico. He did lose a bet.”

“What’d you do this time?” Nico asked in amusement .

“Don’t wanna talk about it.” replied Jason with a glower.

Piper decided to save her boyfriend from his predicament, “But, since we are all such good friends, he’ll tell you guys once we get to Wings-N-Things. Right, Jason?” She added a pointed glare at the blonde.

Jason grumbled, but huffed, “Fine. Whatever.”

Piper smiled and looked to Nico and Hazel, “So grab your stuff! Frank’s meeting us there!”

Laughing and chatting easily, they made their way down the stairs and out of the studio. They waved goodbye to Reyna and followed Jason and Piper’s car out of the  
parking lot. When they pulled into the parking lot, Nico tried to hop out quickly, but Hazel grabbed my wrist, “Nico I-”

But he stopped her, “Hazel-”

“Just listen to me for one second, okay?” She pleaded. Nico sighed, but cocked his head to show he was listening.

“I know you don’t like dancing with other people. I know it makes you uncomfortable. All I ask is…” she paused, “is that you just think about it. Okay?”

Nico nodded, “Alright.” He pulled his wrist from Hazel’s grasp and went to go meet his friends.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CRASH!

Will yelled and found himself on his back, his head throbbing, for the fifth time that day. Honestly, is it so hard to do a simple backflip? He stood again, rubbing his head and his backside as his two friends Percy and Annabeth burst into his room. Well...Percy burst into the room. Annabeth followed slowly after him, smirking at his silliness. 

“Wassup, sunny boyo! How goes the battle?” Percy asked, grinning brightly.

Will shook his head with a smile, “Fine, Perce. What are you guys doing here?”

Annabeth smiled, brushing off her red and white dress and adjusting the strap of her bag, “We were going to get you and Leo and Calypso to see if you guys wanted to hang out at mine and Percy’s apartment later. Watch movies, play games. That kind of thing.”  
Will looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost six. Technically, solo auditions for regionals were in three days, and he needed to practice all he could, but he didn’t think he could handle another fall, and he only had this room until six, so he nodded, picking his own bag up off the ground and following after them.

“Let’s go.”

They ran down a flight of stairs and down a brightly lit hallway to room 1f where Leo and Calypso were practicing. Annabeth was about to open the door when unfamiliar music strains met their ears. The trio listened closer, and soon realized it was not the usual soft guitar, horns, and maracas that Calypso and Leo usually danced to.

“Fall Out Boy?” Percy muttered in mild astonishment, “Huh. I didn’t think Leo was really the type. I thought he listened to, like, Baby Shark remixes and Despacito.”

Annabeth slapped him upside the head, “We’ve been over this seaweed brain. Just because they dance Latin, doesn’t mean he listens to Despacito.”

“Am I wrong though?” Percy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Annabeth sighed, pushing the door open, “No.”

They strode into the room and stopped dead. First, they saw Calypso, an exasperated smirk on her face. She gave them a look like, “Don’t even question it” before turning back to Leo on the dance floor. They did too and instantly regretted it.  
Leo was in the middle of the room, dancing wildly to “Light ‘em Up” just as the chorus set in. He bounced a bit, leaning to the side before throwing out his arm and one of his legs, grinning wildly. Will groaned and hid his face in his hands, as did Annabeth. Percy just cheered him on.  
“Aw yeah! Get down with that music, man!” He cheered, moving to join him at the center of the room. Soon, they were both moving, freestyling to the song in fierce and wild movements that looked more like a strange tribal bro ritual than a dance. Before they could get too far into it, Calypso stopped their jam session.

“Hate to interrupt the bro moment boys.” she said, not sounding sorry at all, “But, Leo, our time is up. The next group will be coming in soon.”

Leo sighed dramatically, putting a hand over his heart, “Ah. Once again, the barriers of time stifle my talent.” Then he grinned and picked up his dance bag, “Oh well.”

Everyone laughed. It was hard not to when Leo said things like that. He was the heart and soul of the group, the one who brought life and familiarity to the group and brought them together. Even if he was a bit...weird (A/N pfft that’s an understatement)  
they all loved him. As they all walked out of Half-Blood Dance Studio together, the bearded man at the front desk waved and smiled, “Have a good evening, you five!” he called warmly. 

The rest of his friends simply smiled and went back to their conversations, but Will called back, “Thanks, Chiron! See you tomorrow!”

Before he could get back to his car, Percy sidled up next to him, “Heeeeeeyyyy, Sunny. Sun bro, blondie, my sun man?”

Will sighed, unlocking his car, “What, Percy”

“Bet you ten bucks and a bowl of popcorn I can get to Jason’s before you.” he grinned.

A grin of his own spread on Will’s face, “Oh you’re on, Percy. You’re so on.”

Okay, so normally he wouldn’t do these things. He didn’t really like it, and he often lost, but hey, it was almost time for auditions, and he could use a break from, well...anything. So Will yanked my car open and jammed his key into the ignition.


	2. Little Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title thanks to the Band "Of Monsters and Men"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salve, mio cari! To start off, thank you to everyone who has read and left kudos on this so far! Your kindness means so much to me and I love that you all are enjoying this story! I'm honestly pretty proud of this chapter and I can't wait to see what you guys think sooo, without further adieu...
> 
> HAPPY READING!!

“Oh my gods, Nico! And then Percy started dancing with him!!!” Jason burst out laughing, “It was so bad.”

Nico smirked, chuckling a bit at his friend, “That’s awesome.”

Jason wiped his eyes, “Yeah.” Then he cleared his throat, “Aaaaaanyway. How’s things with you? Finally getting the hang of that new job of yours?”

Nico nodded. He had recently gotten a job at the local Long Island Library, and he was having a bit of trouble adjusting to the responsibilities of his first job. “Yeah.” He said, “Michelle, my manager, was really helpful today, and I think I can finally reshelve books the right way now.” 

That made Jason laugh, “And the “spilling printer ink on the customers” issue?”

Nico grimaced at that, but replied, “All fixed. I remembered to tie my shoelaces, luckily.”

Jason opened his mouth to speak, but at that exact moment, the alarm on Nico’s watch beeped shrilly. He looked down and sighed, “Speaking of work, I gotta go. My shift starts in half an hour, and I gotta get gas before then.”

Jason nodded, “Alright, man.” He reached out for a fist bump, and Nico obliged, “See you later?”

“Sure thing,” Nico replied, grabbing his bag from the sofa and hurried out the door.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Nico, do you mind reshelving these books in the med section for me?” one of his coworkers, Angie asked, dumping half a dozen thick textbooks into his arms and running off, “Thanks, Nico!”

Well then...

He stood there, utterly confused for a few seconds, before shrugging slowly and stumbling over to the nonfiction books section. He stumbled a bit under their weight but managed to set them on an empty shelf, selecting one book at a time to shelve.

He had just put away a book on advanced anatomy when a frantic voice called, “Watch out!” before he found himself flat on his back, his torso covered by books and a blonde haired someone. He groaned, rubbing at a spot where a book had hit him on the head, and pushed the person off of him. 

“Get off of me.” he growled, “What’s your problem?” 

The person stood, brushing off his jeans and UCSD tee shirt. Nico got a good look at him. He was tall, about four inches taller than he was, and roughly his age (21 or 22), with thick blond hair and tan skin. He had high cheekbones, freckles over his nose, and just about the bluest eyes he had ever seen in his life. Seriously, Nico wondered if the guy wore colored contacts, cause no one’s eyes were that beautiful, and he would be lying if he said they weren’t extremely endearing. 

In short, the guy was hot. Like, extremely hot.

“I am so sorry. I totally wasn’t watching where I was going, I’m sorry.” he said quickly, looking genuinely apologetic.

Nico scowled though. Just because this guy was unbelievably good looking, did not mean he wasn’t mad. He had just finished reshelving his books and now, thanks to their little tumble, they were now all back on the ground, along with about a dozen others.

“Whatever.” he glared, “Just watch where you’re going.”

The blonde guy looked shocked, “Hey, man. I was just trying to apologize. I didn't mean-”

“Can you not, right now?” Nico interrupted, crouching down to pick up the books off the ground, “I now have much more important things to do, thanks to you.

He didn’t see the guy’s face, but a hand moved to a book next to him and he asked, “Do you want any-”

“I want you to get the heck away, is what I want!” Nico snapped. He didn’t need this random guy’s sympathy. Gosh why couldn’t the guy just take a hint. 

Blondie balked, “I was just trying to-”

“Go away!”

Nico looked up and saw the guy’s face turn into a scowl, “Jeez, fine, man. I was just trying to help. No need to get so worked up.”

“I wouldn’t be worked up if you hadn’t knocked me over in the first place!” Nico shot back, shoving the books back in their places as he spoke.

“I said I was sorry!.” shouted the guy in indignation.

“Good! Now you can leave.” Nico snarled, looking straight at the guy and waving in some indistinct direction.

The guy huffed, then opened his mouth to speak, but seemed to think better of it and shut his mouth. With a huff, he said, “Whatever” before stomping off.

Shoving the last book into its place, Nico let out a huff. What a jerk. He didn’t even try to fix their argument. Okay, maybe he could have been better at accepting his apology, and maybe he overreacted a little bit. But hey, it was the guy’s own fault he ran into Nico and then was a Jerkwad about it.

Good riddance. Nico thought as he watched the guy leave.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nico was mostly cooled down by the time he got to the studio later that day, but he still avoided as much conversation with Reyna as possible. Stupid blonde jerk, with his stupid smile and his stupidly kind apology and his eyes that were way too pretty for this world and…

Wait.

What was he thinking?! No, that guy was a jerk, and the sooner he forgot about him , the better. Nico set his bag down and glanced at the clock on the wall. Huh. Nico was five minutes late, adn Hazel wasn’t there yet. Usually they went to the studio together, but when they went separate, Hazel was usually either early, or right on time. He shrugged. Frank’s clunky pickup must’ve broken down again. She’d be here soon, or she’d call him if she was going to be more than fifteen minutes late. So, he plugged in his phone to the speaker, started stretching and waited.

Five minutes passed.

Then ten.

Then fifteen.

Nico was starting to get worried, so he sent her a text. When she didn’t reply to that, he tried a couple more times. After none of those were answered, and he had been waiting for twenty minutes, he decided to call her.

I’m sure she’s just sick and forgot to tell me. Nico assured himself as his phone rang. On the fourth ring, she finally picked up.

“Hazel, what-” he started.

“Oh my goodness, Nico, I’m so sorry I couldn’t call you earlier,” she rushed, obviously breathless, “I’ve been at the hospital, and they wouldn’t let me call you until they-”

Okay, now he was more worried. Nico stopped her rant immediately, “Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. What are you doing at the hospital?” he asked, a frantic edge to his voice, 

“You’re okay right?” 

“I’m fine.” his sister replied, “I got tail-ended on my way to the studio. I got a few nicks and scrapes, but besides a-”

Nico let out a sigh of relief, “Good. I’m glad you’re okay.” he breathed.

“You didn’t let me finish.” Hazel said, he voice serious, “I was about to say, I broke my ankle.”

Nico’s world came to a stand-still. She...what? How could this happen. No. Nonnononononononono. This wasn’t happening. This could not be happening. Not two weeks before auditions! It just couldn’t!

“B-but you can still audition...right?” he asked. It was a dumb question. Her ankle was broken. But he asked anyway, that’s how desperate he was.

Hazel sighed on the other end of the line, “No. The doctor gave me a cast and said I would have to be in it for four weeks before moving to a brace that I can kind of move in.”

“Oh.”

“But!” Hazel added cheerfully, “Now, you can work in that thing we were talking about a couple days ago! Ya know? The whole, ‘you getting better about working with other people’ thing? It’s a bit too late for solo auditions, but you can work towards that next year!”

Nico nodded sadly, “Yeah. I guess.”

There was a pause, then Hazel said, “I’ll get better, Nico. I promise.” Then, after a second, she said, “I gotta go, but I’ll call you when I get back to my apartment, okay?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

“I love you, Nico.”

“Love you, too.”

She hung up, and Nico let his hand fall to his side. How could this even happen? It’s almost like she knew this was going to happen. The universe was playing some sort of cruel joke on him right now, and Nico did not find it funny. No, not in the slightest. Slowly, as if in a trance, Nico picked up his bag off the floor and trudged out to the lobby. No point in staying if he didn’t have anyone to dance with. As he made his way slowly out of the lobby, Reyna noticed his state and asked, “Hey, Nico, you okay?”

He waved a hand over his shoulder as he pulled the door open, “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine, Reyna.”

But he was not fine. Definitely not fine. But, right now, he didn’t need Reyna’s motherly concern. He got onto his bike and drove off to Jason’s apartment.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Jason opened the door, the first words out of his mouth were, “What do you need?” It wasn’t condescending, or annoyed. Honestly, it was more curious and kind, than anything.

Nico raised an eyebrow, “Can’t I just come over to say hi?”

Jason shrugged, “Well, yeah, but (a) you look like you’re about a hair’s width away from a full on breakdown, and (b) everytime you come over, it’s because you need something.”

Nico sighed in defeat, nodding, “Yeah, you’re right.”

“No argument?” Jason asked in amusement, “This must be really bad, huh?”

He let Nico in and Nico plopped himself on the couch, covering his face in his hands, “I’m not even gonna beat around the bush here, Jas’. Today sucked.”

Jason sat down next to him, putting a hand on Nico’s shoulder, “What’s up, man?”

Nico launched into a tirade about the jerk at work, and then how Hazel broke her arm, so now they couldn’t go to regionals, and all his feelings in between. Usually, Nico wouldn’t have put so much trust in anyone, but Jason was Nico’s closest friend. He had known him for years, so Nico was able to tell him.

After Nico was done, Jason sat silent for a minute to process. After a solid minute, he said, “Okay, first, let’s discuss the guy at the library. You said he was a jerk about knocking you over?”  
"Yes.” Nico said shortly.

Jason nodded, “Mhm. And were you a jerk about the apology I’m sure he offered? And the help I’m positive he tried to give?”

Nico remained silent.

“I thought so.” Jason said, “Seems to me like you’re the one who let things get out of hand.”

“How is him getting mad my fault?” Nico asked angrily, “He’s the one who ran into me in the first place!”

Instead of yelling back, Jason ruffled his hair, “Cause you have zero people skills, my bro, and you overreacted.”

Nico grumbled, but didn’t respond.

Jason continued, “Okay then, moving on. What are you going to do about auditions?”

Nico shook his head, “Not go and wait for next year, I guess.”

“But don’t you want to go to regionals?”

“Of course I do!” Nico exclaimed, “But you know how I am! I can’t dance in front of a crowd by myself, let alone another person!”

There was an odd silence and Nico looked to Jason, “Jas’.”

Jason sat, his chin in his hands, looking very concentrated at the floor. After a few minutes, he looked slowly at Nico.

Oh no. Nico knew that look. Those were the squinty eyes of a new idea. Nico always hated that face.

“What?” he asked slowly, “What are you planning?” 

Jason continued to give him that suspiciously squinty look, “What of you danced with someone I already knew, and was sure would never judge you or make fun of you?”

“Jason, no.”

“Hear me out!” his friend pleaded, “I have a friend. His name’s Will, and he missed solo auditions this morning. He’s an amazing dancer, and we all agree he could have done really well at regionals. You are also an amazing dancer, and you pick up un choreography really quick. I’m sure Will has a dance he can adapt to both your styles and for a duo!”

Nico looked down, “Jason, I don’t know….”

“Nico, “Jason grabbed his shoulders, “do you want to go to regionals?”

“More than anything.” he replied earnestly, “But Jason-”

“Then I don’t see the problem!” Jason said, “I’ve known Will for years, and he’s the nicest person I know! The dude wouldn't judge so much as a spec of dryer lint! You’d be perfectly fine dancing with him, I promise.”

Jason looked at him with pleading eyes, “C’mon, Neeks. Work with me here.”

Nico thought about it. Did he want to go to regionals? Yes. More than anything. And, honestly, Jason’s argument was kinda tempting. He just didn’t know if he could. He was a good dancer, he knew that, but as soon as he felt uncomfortable, like he was being criticized to any degree, he froze up and couldn’t move to the best of his ability. He had tried dancing with other people, Jason, for example, but he simply couldn’t. He really just didn’t feel comfortable. But this Will guy...If he really was as kind as Jason said, maybe he would be able to. And he really did want to go to regionals…

Nico sighed, “Fine. I’ll give it a try.”

Jason cheered, “Yes!” he scrambled up, grabbing a piece of paper off the counter and started scribbling something on it, “Okay, I’ll give you the address of our studio, Will’s practice time, and his usual room number.” He handed him the paper, “here ya go! Meet us tomorrow!”

“I uhhhhh...Wh-what about your friend?” Nico asked, “Shouldn’t he know about this first?”

Jason grinned mischievously, “Oh, don’t worry. Leave all that to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have is guys, gals, and my non binary pals! I really do hope you enjoyed this, please feel free to let me know in the comments and maybe (maybe) I'll post ch. 3 sooner than next week ;D  
> Ciao, ventosa!  
> -Blue


	3. Take A Chance On Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salve!  
> Dang, it seems like FOR EVER since I've updated this story, even thought it's only been a week! Hope you enjoy it anyways please feel free to comment of you do!

In hindsight, Nico realized that this was a bad idea. Standing in front of Half-Blood dance studio, his dance pack slung over his shoulder, he looked from the note Jason had given him, up to the studio, and back again and realized he did not want to be here. Nico sighed, but he went in anyway, knowing that Jason’s wrath if he backed out now, would be far greater than any consequences. He pushed open front doors and was greeted by a kind, “Well, hello there. You must be Nico di Angelo.”

A short, kindly looking man was sitting behind the front desk and smiling at him warmly. He walked out from behind the desk though, and Nico realized he was not short at all. He was sitting in a wheelchair. The man adjusted the blue button-down he was wearing and extended a hand for Nico to shake, “My name is Chiron.” the man said, “Welcome to the studio. Percy and Jason have told me a lot about you.”

Nico shook his hand, nodding respectfully, “Thank you, sir. All good things, I hope?”

The man, Chiron, laughed, “Oh yes. They told me all about your decision to dance with Will, and how wonderful you two would do together. I must say, I’m rather excited myself.”

“Thank you, sir.” Nico replied.

Chiron waved a hand, “Please, call me Chiron. ‘Sir’ makes me feel old.” he insisted.

“Oh. O-of course..Chiron.”

Chiron laughed again, “I’ll let you get going. I’m sure Will will be waiting for you. Jason told you the way, I hope?”

“Yeah.” Nico nodded.

“Well then, enjoy yourself, Nico.” Chiron said, leaving him to return to his desk.

Nico marched toward a flight of stairs, glancing down at the paper. Room 5B, that’s where he was headed. Luckily, the layout of the studio was similar to New Rome, so he jogged up two flights of stairs until he made it to the room he needed. The tag sat above the door in big silver characters and Nico pushed the door open. There was a yellow bag by the door with the initials W.S, on the strap, so Nico knew he was in the right place, but there was no one in the room.  
Welp, Nico shrugged. He was in a dance studio after all. Might as well dance. He had a few routines he was choreographing for himself at the moment, so he plugged his phone into the speaker, pulled up one of the songs, and started dancing.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Will was nervous, and rightly so. Just last night, he had gotten a frantic call from Jason exclaiming that he had a way for Will to dance in regionals. Of course, he had been all ears instantly. What he had not expected, however, was to hear that Jason’s idea was for him to dance with someone he had never met in his entire life and create a routine in two weeks for duo auditions for regionals. 

Um...what??!!

Somehow, some way, Jason had gotten him to agree, and now he was kind of freaking out. He had made sure to get to the studio extra early in case this new guy got lost or something, but, about two minutes before five, he had decided he needed time to gather his thoughts and just himself. That was five minutes ago, and he was heading back to his room, finally able to feel some sort of calm. As he neared his room though, the sound of unfamiliar music reached his ears. Was that…’If’ by Janet Jackson? He listened closer. Yeah, it was. And it was coming from his room too.

'New guy’s here, I guess.' he thought.

He pushed open the door to see a shorter boy in black pants, grey shirt that hugged his body, yet fell loosely in all the right places, and flannel around his waist, bobbing up and down at the center of the room. Will knew that sort of zone a good dancer got in when they were really into it, so he leaned against the door and watched as the music started and the boy rushed into motion. He moved forward, one hand on his head, the other extended out, bringing them together and he took two large, flared steps towards the front of the room. He swung his hands outward to the beat of the music, jumping a bit to the side and landing with his legs out a hand under his chin and a look of complete concentration on his face. He used the motion of pushing his head to the side to almost throw himself forward and he moved over, barely leaving his current position before he swung his leg, turned and moved back those couple steps so that he was standing in relatively the same place again. He moved across the room, his movements quick and precise, but still bordering on fluid and calculated. Will watched in awe. If this was his dance partner, he lucked out. This guy was amazing! Not to mention the way his black hair fell over his face, and the intense look in his face as he danced was extremely attractive. As he moved, sliding and jumping fiercely across the floor, each move exactly in time with the beat and rhythm of the song, Will was a bit embarrassed to admit that he watched a bit more than just his dancing. He watched the way the guy’s shirt flew to the side a bit as he moved, revealing a bit of pale skin, he noticed the boy’s inky black eyes, shining with determination, he saw each and every twist and turn of the guy’s body. Of course, the slow body rolls the guy had thrown into his routine didn’t help in the slightest. It was way too distracting, but Will couldn’t find it in himself to be angry. 

Despite being absolutely sure he had never seen this guy before, a strange pull of familiarity nagged in the back of his mind. Like he had seen this guy at work, or maybe in passing at a restaurant. Will pushed the thought aside as the boy stopped dancing mid song. It seemed whatever he had choreographed had run out, and Will allowed himself to clap slowly. 

The boy whipped around in alarm, a black water bottle halfway to his mouth and, for the first time, Will got a good look at his face. He gasped as that slight recognition made way to full on remembrance. It was him. The guy who’d snapped and been a jerk to him at the library! The guy who was a complete jerk for absolutely no reason! 

“You!” he gasped.

And to think Will had been checking him out!

The guy seemed to recognize him too. His face contorted into a scowl,”You.”

“What are you doing here!” Will cried in outrage. No, no, no. There was no way in Hades this was the guy Jason had told him about. Jason had said the guy was nice, and chill. From what he had seen, the guy in front of him was neither of those things.

“Me?” the guy asked, “I’m waiting for my dance partner.”

“Yeah, well I’m waiting for mine, and he’ll probably be really confused if he comes in and sees me talking to Emo McScowl, so if you could just leave now, that’d be great!” Will snapped. He was being irrational, he knew, and letting his emotions get the better of him, but he couldn’t help it. This guy had an unusually keen knack for getting under his skin.

To his surprise, the guy froze, then he shook his head, “Oh no.” he said, stepping back, “No, no, no, no, no. This is not happening. Jason, you better now have-” he looked at Will, “Please tell me you’re not Will Solace.”

All at once, it clicked for him too. He was waiting for his dance partner, and this guy was in his room waiting for his dance partner. 

“Y-Yeah. Yeah I am.” Will replied, “Are you Nico?”

The boy paled, even more than was his natural skin color, “Yes.”

“Welp,” Will said, “this is a disaster.”

Nico pinched the bridge of his nose, “Wow. Yeah. This was a disaster. Okay.” he took a deep breath, pausing a moment to gather his thoughts before looking up at Will, “Let’s back up and start over.” he extended a hand, “Hi there, I’m Nico di Angelo. Nice to meet you.”

Grateful that Nico was so easily able to forgive and forget, Will gladly took his hand, “Nice to meet you, too.” he smiled, “I’m Will.”

A small barely perceptible smile curled on Nico’s face, “Nice. Now that that’s settled, you ready to dance?”

Will did smile, “Oh yeah.” he nodded, “I was thinking we could each dance for each other. Do a routine to get to know the other’s dance styles.” he grinned sheepishly, But I guess you already did that, huh?”

To his surprise, Nico looked down and blushed, “Y-yeah. Did you...did you like it?”

There was so much vulnerability in the boy’s voice that it was impossible for Will not to smile, “Yeah. It was amazing. You’re really good, man.”

Nico looked up, a slight simple on his face, “Thanks. I-I don’t...usually dance. For people I don’t know well, I mean.”

Will put a hand on his shoulder, “No problem. We’ll work on that.”

So, they danced. Will showed off what would have been his audition dance, ‘Don’t Bother Me’ by Tahsannie, and Nico seemed impressed. After that, Will and Nico started trying out dances together. Nothing choreographed or intricate, just freestyling to different songs to see how they worked together. Will was totally in his element, but Nico was struggling, he knew it.

He tried to let loose and dance with the same ease he usually did, but he found himself fearing judgement as usual. As hard as he tried to convince himself that Will wasn’t criticizing him, he couldn’t shake the scathing words they had shared yesterday and earlier. Was Nico moving right? Was his jump high enough? Was Will scrutinizing his breakdancing moves? Nico stumbled once, tried to get back into it, but then stumbled again. He just couldn’t dance with all these thoughts of unease nagging in the back of his mind. He tried to let it go, but if the stiffness in his movement was any indication, it wasn’t working.

He tried again, and fell this time. Will noticed this and stopped, “Nico, you okay?”

Nico stood, shaking his head, “I-I’m sorry, Will, I can’t…I’m n-not..” but the words wouldn’t come. Of course, just when he had an opportunity to get into regionals, he went and messed it up with his blasted stage fright and social anxiety. He scrunched up his stinging eyes, grabbed his bag, and sprintied out of the room.  
“Nico!” Will called after him, but he kept running. He couldn’t face Will right now. Not when he had made a complete fool of himself. He probably thought Nico was some sort of amateur or idiot.  
He ran out the lobby and slumped down in one of the benches outside the studio, covering his face with his hands. Great. Just great, Nico, he told himself, You had one chance to get into regionals and you blew it.  
To his utter surprise, not five minutes later, the very person who was supposed to hate him came out the front door and sat next to him.  
“What do you want?” Nico said with little bite.  
“Jason told me about how you don’t like dancing in front of new people.” Will said gently, “Gosh, Nico, I didn’t know. I never would have made you do that if it made you uncomfortable. I’m sorry.”  
Nico waved the comment away, “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”  
“But I should have asked. That would have been the right thing to do.”  
Nico smirked, “You are really bothered by this, huh?”  
Will sighed, “Just...is there anything I can do to..to help you?” he paused, “I mean, I totally get it if you can’t do this. I’m a new guy, and I get that, but this is...really important to me and-” he stopped, a look of horror growing on his face, “Oh my gosh, I’m sorry, that sounded so rude and self centered and-”  
Will stopped when he saw Nico laughing heartily. He smiled, “Well then, it’s okay, I guess.”  
Nico wiped his eyes, “Y-Yeah.”  
Will grinned, then glanced at Nico shyly, “Soooooo, I know this is a lot to ask, but….do you maybe wanna...I mean, would you...like to be my dance partner?”  
Nico looked at Will, at the earnest look in his eyes, and, for once, really considered it. Sure he had considered it last night, but he hadn’t really thought about it. Now, with that open, honest look bearing down on him, Nico took time to think. Will was a nice guy and, despite the couple scuffles they had before, he could actually really see them being good friends. He was nice, adn considerate, and funny and-  
Nico blinked. Not now, gay thoughts.  
He smiled a little though. What could it hurt, trying this out? If it backfired, he could just go back to dancing with Hazel, after all.  
“Nico?”  
He realized Will was staring at him imploringly, waiting for an answer.  
“Oh, right.” he said, then he nodded, “Sure. I’ll give it a shot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awwwww yeah, Oedipus! There it is, the next chapter in this story and we're finally getting thee ball rolling with the plot here! Yass! Stay tuned for more! Until nxt week!
> 
> Ciao!  
> -Blue


	4. A/N

To my readers: So sorry I have been negecting this fic! Honestly, life is kinda kicking my behind right now, and I haven't had much time to write :''( I promise I'll try to work on it soon tho, aight mio cari?

Ciao!  
Blue


	5. One Step Forward

“I like Nico, I like him alot, Jason.” Will exclaimed, as he poured himself yet another cup of rootbeer. He took a sip and plopped back down on his sofa, “It’s just...whenever I think we’re getting anywhere, he gets all upset and just...scowls at me.”

Jason shrugged and replied, “Don’t take it personally, Will. He does that to everyone. Even me sometimes! It’s just who he is; he’ll get over it.”

“What do I do?”

Jason smiled, “Actually, I have the perfect idea. Have you guys hung out at all besides for practice?”

Will shook his head, “N-No.”

“Well that’s your first problem. You guys gotta get to know each other! Build synergy! You can’t dance successfully as a duo if you don’t have synergy!”

“So your solution is…” Will prompted.

“Squad and I are going down to the local hospital and dancing in the courtyard. We go every wednesday. You should join us!” Jason suggested, “That way, you can get a better feel for each other's styles, get to hang with us (and, more specifically, Nico) and have some fun at the same time!”

“I-” Will started.

“Your style is so fun and upbeat! The kids’ll love it!!” Jason added.

Will paused to think, then smiled and nodded, “Sign me up!”

Jason pumped his fist, Aww yeah!” he grinned, “We’re meeting at my place at five. And then carpooling from there. I think Leo’s driving his new hippie van he got.”

“I’ll be there.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angel_of_Victory has started a chat with Twinkle_Toes and Stapler_Anyone?

Angel_of_Victory: Guys, I need help.

Twinkle_Toes: What’s wrong, Nico?

Stapler_Anyone?: I got you bro!  
_  
Angel_of_Vicory: I think I’m dancing with a literal god.

Twinkle_Toes: ?

Stapler_Anyone?: XD You mean WILL!!

Angel_of_Victory: I swear, Grace…

Twinkle_Toes: Nico, no murder. We’ve talked about this.

Angel_of_Victory: Fine. You guys will still help me right?

Angel_of_Victory: Cause I’m pretty sure his skills and beauty are slowly killing me.

Stapler_Anyone?: AWWWWWWWWWWW!! Nico has a CRUUUSH!!

Angel_of_Victory: I do not!

Twinkle_Toes: You kinda do, Nico. Even I can see that.

Angel_of_Victory: Not you too, Hazel!

Stapler_Anyone?: We’re just helping you come to terms with it, buddy. I personally think you’d be a cute couple X>

Twinkle_Toes: I second that.

Angel_of_Victory has changed his username to ‘No’

No: You guys are the worst. You know that.

Stapler_Anyone?: We know, bro.

Twinkle_Toes: We love you too, Nico! ;D

No: I’m gonna go ask Reyna _ _  
-

‘No’ has left the chat

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Please tell me someone remembered the speaker this time.”

“Relax, Pipes,” Jason grinned, slinging an arm around her shoulders as they walked across the parking lot with their friends.

Piper sighed, “But the last time we did this, Percy forgot the speaker and we had to dance with music just from our speakers. And we all know that did not work.”

“Hey, it wasn’t my fault!” Percy said indignantly, “We were rushing! Mom had just come to pick up Estelle, and I forgot to grab it in my rush to get there in the first place!” 

Leo let go of Calypso’s hand to nudge Percy’s shoulder grinning mischievously, “Yeah sure, Water Boy. That’s why you were late.”

Percy blushed and mumbled something about idiot friends.

Nico watched all this in amused silence. His friends really were strange, but he wouldn’t have them any other way. What frustrated him was the newest addition to their little band of weirdos. Will Solace.

Now, don’t get him wrong, he didn’t hate that it was Will. The guy was probably the best person to add to the group. It was what Will did to him that frustrated him. Whenever he saw the blonde, his heart did a weird fluttery thing, and he got all distracted and jittery, and that was not a good thing when he was about to go and dance. 

And it didn’t help that the guy kept trying to talk to him.

“Are they always this weird?” Will asked, smiling in amusement.

Nico shrugged, “Usually. It’s kinda what they do.”

Will was about to reply, but at that moment, one of the other nurses came up to them excitedly.

“Oh you’re here!” she said happily, “The children will be so happy to see you!”

Annabeth spoke for the group, “Of course, Mellie. We’re always happy to be here.”

The nurse, Mellie, gave them all a warm smile, “Why don’t you guys all go out to the courtyard, and I’ll bring them all out?”

“Will do. Thanks, Mellie!” Annabeth replied and they filed out of the hospital out into a clear, grassy courtyard. 

Jason moved over to a bench underneath a large oak tree and set down the large speaker before plugging in his phone and scrolling through some playlists until he got to their “Hospital Jamz” playlist. Kidds of all ages were now filing into the courtyard, some in wheelchairs, some on crutches, some even in their beds still. When the last kid had been comfortably situated, Percy and Annabeth stood in the most open part of the courtyard, while everyone else moved to stand with Jason under the tree.

“So, what now?” Will asked Leo, who was next to him.

Leo grinned, “Now, we dance. Jason has a playlist that he changes up every week so we’re always on our toes. It’s kinda tradition that Percy and Annabth start, but we all just kinda listen to the music and jump in whenever we feel like it.”

Will grinned, “Nice!”

“Yeah. It’s fun, and the kids love it!” Leo replied. Then, they both turned to the green as Jason hit play and the opening strains of what Will recognized as “Whatever It Takes” by Imagine Dragons began.

The dance was faster than Will remembered their dances being. He was so used to their soulful and heartfelt dances, that he actually stepped back a bit in shock when they launched into synchronized and fierce moments that flowed with the lyrics more than the music. It almost looked like sign language, the way the used their hands, but then, a few lines in, they moved down lower, coming back up and resumed the ASL-like movements. Will watched in complete and utter awe as they danced. Leo had said this was all improve, but this couldn’t possibly have not been choreographed. They were so in sync, matching each other's movements so perfectly, it was almost inhuman. Then, Leo and calypso were running on to the “stage” hand in hand, and throwing themselves into some intense salsa moves. The kids laughed and cheered as they spun around and swayed to the music, making sure to include some of their signature quick steps and impressive throws. The dance was upbeat and fun, and it made Will want to go and dance with them.

So he did.

He ran up and did a front flip, landing straight in front of the duo as the next song (I Want You Back by Jackson Five) replaced the old one. Okay, so the flip wasn’t entirely necessary, but whatever. The kids loved it and, as he started in some intense fast but light movements that were the trademark of his style, he heard them all cheering and laughing at his dancing. Honestly, Will was just expecting to do one sing and head back to the safety of the tree to let his friends have the fun, but now that he was onstage, he almost couldn’t stop. It wasn’t until a distinctly hip-hop song came on, and Jason, flapping his hands sassily in a “shoo shoo” motion, that he left.

As Jason launched into his powerful steps and fast footwork, flipping and breakdancing much to the kids’ delight, he heard a voice in his ear, “That was pretty good, Solace.”

Will whipped his head to the side and saw Nico standing next to him, a smirk on his face. 

He felt an involuntary blush rise to his cheeks, “T-thanks.”

Nico shrugged, “No problem. I never knew you could dance like that.”

“Well,” Will laughed, “seeing as we’ve only known each other for a few days, it makes sense.”

Nico let out a bark of laughter as well, “Yeah. I suppose so.”

The two watched as Jason pulled Piper onstage for a dance that looked like a strange blend of hip hop and jazz. It was odd, but they looked like they were having so much fun together, that Will couldn’t help but think that it worked rather well.

“I liked that song.”

Will looked back to Nico, “Huh?”

“That song you were dancing to. The Jackson Five one? I liked it.” Nico explained.

“Yeah?” replied Will.

The boy nodded, “Yeah. A-and I was thinking...well...You know, it fits my dance style pretty well, and you seemed to have a pretty good grip with it, s-so…”

Will grinned, “Looks like we’ve got ourselves an audition song to choreograph.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, none of the dancing they did in this chapter was based off anything in particular, except the percabeth one. Here's a link for ya!  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-BoY06ooXE
> 
> Ciao, venntosa!  
> -Blue


End file.
